Sydney Dance Company Performs At The Joyce Theater 11/8-13

The Joyce Theater Foundation is set to present the return of Sydney Dance Company for the first time since it has been under the artistic direction of Rafael Bonachela, from Tuesday, November 8 - Sunday, November 13. The program for this engagement will include two U.S. premieres by Bonachela set to commissioned scores by Italian composer Ezio Bosso. Tickets for this week-long engagement are $10-$49 ($26 - $37 for Joyce Members) and are available through JoyceCharge at www.Joyce.org or by calling 212-242-0800. Please note: ticket prices are subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street, in Chelsea.

Under the vision of the Barcelona-born choreographer Rafael Bonachela since 2009, Sydney Dance Company returns to The Joyce with a program that includes two U.S. premieres, both by Bonachela and set to commissioned scores by Italian composer Ezio Bosso. The 39-year old company and its current 15 members will open its upcoming season at The Joyce with 6 BREATHS, a work that is divided into 6 sections - 1st Breath, Out of Breath, Crying Breath, In the Same Breath, Under One's Breath and Last Breath - each featuring a piano solo mixed with the natural sound of human breath. Working with Ezio's score, with video art by Tim Richardson and costumes by Josh Goot, Bonachela explores through movement the many facets of the simple and ever-changing act of breathing. The second half of the program is LANDforms. Inspired by the emotional responses to the powerful and dramatic contrasts of the Australian landscape and the elements that shape them, this moving work features serene and sensuous movement set to Bosso's score for piano, violin, cello and voice.

Sydney Dance Company returns to The Joyce Theater from November 8 - 13 as follows: Tuesday & Wednesday at 7:30pm; Thursday - Friday at 8pm; Saturday 2pm & 8pm; Sunday 2pm. Dance Chat, a free post-performance discussion, will take place on Wednesday, November 9. Additionally, a pre-show intro led by a Joyce teaching artist will take place on Thursday, November 10 at 7pm. Both discussions are open to all patrons attending those evenings' performances. More information about these discussions is available on the Joyce website. Tickets for Sydney Dance Company range in price from $10-$49 ($26 - $37 for Joyce Members) and are available through JoyceCharge at www.Joyce.org or by calling 212-242-0800. Please note: Tickets prices are subject change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street, in Chelsea.

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Rafael BonachelaArtistic Director, Sydney Dance CompanyChoreography and Concept 6 BREATHS and LANDformsRafael Bonachela took on the role of Artistic Director of Sydney Dance Company in 2009. Since then, he has created three new works (we unfold, 6 Breaths and LANDforms), re-staged several of his earlier works (Soledad, Irony of Fate and The Land of Yes & The Land of No), and commissioned some of the world's most sought after choreographers (Kenneth Kvarnstrom, Adam Linder, Emanuel Gat and Jacopo Godani). Bonachela just renewed his contract with Sydney Dance Company and will lead it through 2014 developing new works and entering into new, exciting collaborations. Prior to taking up the reins at Sydney Dance Company, he led his award winning, London-based Bonachela Dance Company, on tour throughout Europe. As a choreographer he also undertook commissions with international contemporary dance companies and crossed over into the pop world including a commission as choreographer for Kylie Minogues FeverTour. Barcelona born Bonachela began his dance training at fifteen years old and at the age of eighteen moved to London and continued his training prior to joining London's legendary Rambert Dance Company in 1992. There he remained as a lead dancer and Associate Choreographer until leaving to set up his own company in 2006.

EZIO BOSSO Composition and Concept6 BREATHS & LANDforms Ezio Bosso is a London-based composer who is currently the Principal conductor and Artistic Director of The London Strings. Oceanswas his first symphony and his first commission for Sydney Dance Company. Since then he has collaborated with Rafael Bonachela on the creation of 6 Breaths and composed Music for Weather Elementsfor LANDforms. Road Signs Variationsfor The Land of Yes & The Land of No is one of his earlier collaborations with Rafael Bonachela which toured throughout Europe in 2009 with Bonachela Dance Company and now comes to the Brisbane Festival for its Australian premiere. From 2010, Bosso has been principal guest conductor of the Filarmonica 900 of the Teatro Regio di Torino and Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of The London Strings.

TIM RICHARDSONVideo Art 6 BREATHSMelbourne born photographer and director, currently living between Sydney and New York, Tim Richardson's work has been exhibited around the world and is held in the collections of Deutsche Bank, Elton John and the Art Gallery of NSW. Tim regularly contributes to influential publications including Dazed & Confused, V Magazine, Vogue and Interview. As a director, Tim has created film and video installations, music videos and commercials. His first short film Procession was shown at the Strasbourg Film Festival and at the British Film Institute as part of the ONEDOTZERO film festival. Tim studied Design at Swinburne University in Melbourne during which time he co-founded an art direction and design business where his clients included Dale Frank, Tracy Moffat and Bill Henson. As a photographer he has worked with Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and Sydney Theatre Company. Tim has published two books - most recently the limited edition Physical Frequencies - and recently judged the photography section of the Qantas Spirit of Youth Award and is currently mentoring the award recipient. Tim was commissioned by Rafael Bonachela to create the 6 Breaths video art installation, a singular component of the production's stage design and Tim's first collaboration with the Company as a stage designer.

JOSH GOOTCostume Design6 BREATHSJosh Goot is an Australian designer living and working in Sydney. Producing high profile fashion collections each season, he has been described as "modernism's new messiah" (Jamie Huckbody, Harper's Bazaar) and "the king of urban chic" (Stephen Todd, The Australian) for his "fast paced urban sportswear." (Mark Holgate, Vogue) In 2005, Josh showed his first collection at Australian Fashion Week where he won the Tiffany & Co. Young Designer of the Year Award. International interest followed and in July 2005, the label was featured on the cover of international fashion bible Women's Wear Daily. In 2006 Goot made his first appearance at New York Fashion Week and later moved to London. In 2009, he was awarded the Marie Claire Best Designer Award in Australia and was nominated as a finalist in the International Mango Fashion Award in Barcelona. Josh continues to show in Sydney at Australian Fashion Week and is one of Australia's most celebrated and talked about young designers. 6 Breaths was Josh Goot's first commission to design costumes for dance.

About Sydney Dance CompanySydney Dance Company has its origins in a company founded in 1969 by dancer Suzanne Musitz. In the early 1970s, the organization came of age as The Dance Company (NSW) and began to receive annual government funding along with a notable growth in stature and public support. In 1975-1976 the Company was directed by Dutch choreographer Jaap Flier, before the appointment of Australian choreographer Graeme Murphy in November 1976. The Company was led from 1976 - 2007 by Artistic Director Graeme Murphy and Associate Director Janet Vernon. (Murphy and Vernon instituted the defining name change to Sydney Dance Company in 1979.) Following the death of newly appointed Director Tanya Liedtke in 2007, Sydney Dance Company spent time finding a new Artistic Director to lead the Company on a new journey of excellence, and in 2009 Rafael Bonachela took over as Artistic Director. Sydney Dance Company's headquarters are located at The Wharf, Pier 4, in Sydney's busy arts precinct at Walsh Bay where other arts companies, such as Bangarra Dance Theatre, Carnivale, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and ATYP, are also located. Sydney Dance Company gratefully acknowledges the support of the Australia Council, the Federal Government's arts funding and advisory body, through the Major Performing Arts Board; the New South Wales Government through the Ministry for the Arts; and the invaluable support received from its sponsors, company supporters and partners.

About The Joyce Theater FoundationThe Joyce Theater Foundation, a non-profit organization, has proudly served the dance community and its audiences for three decades. The founders, Cora Cahan and Eliot Feld, acquired and renovated the Elgin Theater in Chelsea, which opened as The Joyce Theater in 1982. The Joyce Theater is named in honor of Joyce Mertz, beloved daughter of LuEsther T. Mertz. It was LuEsther's clear, undaunted vision and abundant generosity that made it imaginable and ultimately possible to build the theater. One of the only theaters built by dancers for dance, The Joyce Theater has provided an intimate and elegant home for more than 320 domestic and international companies. The Joyce has also commissioned more than 130 new dances since 1992. In 1996, The Joyce created Joyce SoHo, a dance center providing highly subsidized rehearsal and performance space to hundreds of dance artists, as well as special residency opportunities for selected choreographers to support the creation of new work. In 2009, The Joyce opened Dance Art New York (DANY) Studios to provide affordable studios for rehearsals, auditions, classes, and workshops for independent choreographers, non-profit dance companies, and the dance/theater communities. New York City public school students and teachers annually benefit from The Joyce's Dance Education Program, and adult audiences get closer to dance through informative Dance Talks, Joyce Pre-Show gatherings, and post-performance Dance Chat discussions. The Joyce Theater now features an annual season of approximately 48 weeks with over 340 performances for audiences in excess of 135,000.